Jeremy is for turning: Labour’s Liverpool conference marks a clear repositioning of the left on Brexit

The recent Labour conference in Liverpool marked a clear repositioning of the party in the Brexit debate. There has been a clear shift in how the British left sees the UK’s future relationship with Europe, writes Angelos Angelou (LSE). The left just created an opening for a second referendum that could potentially reverse the previous one. As it turns out, on Europe, Jeremy Corbyn is for turning, he argues.

The recent Labour conference in Liverpool marked a clear repositioning of the party in the Brexit debate. The approved motion suggested that the party should support a “public vote” if the final deal is not favourable for the “many” and the government does not, then, call for a general election. The motion also included a commitment to keep Britain in the Single Market. One can read these decisions as general statements aiming to put Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street. Yet, they have wider significance for the country. They demonstrate a clear shift of how the British left perceives the Brexit debate.

During the referendum campaign, one could identify two distinct economic narratives inside the Leave camp. From the one part, the Tory Leavers were suggesting that Britain would do far better outside the European straitjacket. Leaving the EU would liberate the country from burdensome European regulations, attracting investment via a favourable tax regime and a pro-business regulatory framework. At the same time, the country would be free to pursue its own trade policies, engaging potential trade partners without the prior agreement of other EU member-states and without the mediation of the European Commission. In effect, Britain would open up to unfettered trade by removing any barriers that previous EU policies have raised. Opposite to this libertarian narrative, but still in the Leave camp, one could find Labour and other Leftist campaigners backing a Leave vote on totally different grounds. For the “Lexiteers”, a vote to leave the EU would liberate Britain from what they saw as a “neoliberal” cage that would lead to further austerity and financial deregulation. According to the supporters of this line of thinking, the EU is simply unreformable and bound to move towards a more liberal direction. In that sense leaving the EU would give the opportunity to the British voters to finally vote in a government that might be able to follow policies towards the opposite direction, without having to worry about the reactions of its European partners.

The political situation in post-referendum Britain suggested that these two camps would respectively dominate the Conservative and the Labour party. Indeed, for the Tories this was the case. Theresa May from a mild Remainer became a staunch Brexiteer, while Boris Johnson and David Davis both obtained central cabinet posts that would allow them to realize their libertarian version of Brexit. On the other hand, the Labour party proved to be much more of a riddle. Jeremy Corbyn provided only lukewarm support to the Remain campaign, while he kept exhibiting sympathetic signals to the Lexiteers that occupied the left wing of his party. The ambivalence over Labours’ position vis-à-vis Brexit became even bigger during the post-referendum period. A number of activists and academics, that had openly supported Corbyn, were pushing for a hard Brexit that would allow the party to put forward an agenda of massive redistribution. This agenda would include protectionist measures and the renationalisation of major industries. At the same time, the ever-growing young membership of the party was nudging the leadership towards a more accommodative approach that would either attempt to avert Brexit altogether, via a second referendum, or, at the very least, keep Britain in the Single Market. The recent motion suggests that the latter camp won the argument.

The significance of this development is, I think, central for how Brexit will unfold. First of all, in case Theresa May decides to call an early election, in the face of intra and inter-party opposition against the final deal, the Labour platform on the issue will be far clearer and binding. The party would have to support Britain’s participation in the Single Market, recognising that there are significant economic benefits of staying close to the EU. Even more importantly, the main party of the British left just created an opening for a second referendum that could potentially reverse the previous one. It was not just the wild round of applause that Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit Secretary, received when he stated that “nobody is ruling out remain”. It was the clear feeling that the most energetic and vibrant sections of party were actively lobbying in favour of a second referendum, While there was no clear commitment that a second vote would include a choice for Britain to stay in the Union, the fact that the opposition just brought forward a suggestion for a “public vote” signifies that such a referendum is now a very real possibility – given also the support of the Liberal Democrats.

All in all, the decisions taken in Liverpool should be seen as the first substantial step away from the Lexit camp. If Jeremy Corbyn was leaning in favour of the latter prior to the vote, his turn is now official and on paper. In fact, it was approved and rubberstamped by the very force that kept him in place when he was doubted: the flocks of young voters that have lived with the benefits of the EU and are now reluctant to see them gone.

This post represents the views of the author and neither those of the LSE Brexit blog nor of the LSE.

Angelos Angelou is a PhD candidate in the European Institute, international bureaucracies, with a focus on the Commission’s debt management strategies.

Max, where did you get your figures from?
Please check for a breakdown of who voted what this poll the enclosed link.
Majority of Labour voters voted Remain

The Tories were able to get out the ‘ancient’ vote – I saw it with my own eyes at the local polling station – they shipped old people in wheelchairs and on zimmer frames to the polling station. They must have ‘harvested’ their voters from all the old peoples’ homes.

The leavers were egtremely well organised while the remainers were dormant for too long. Including me.
And the 16 year old were not allowed to vote about their future.
EU citizens registered here to vote in local election and having lived here for many years were not allowed to vote either- appaling because we are effed big time.

It is not a ‘democratic’ decision when lots of people were deliberately disenfranchised – and the leaves also tried to take the vote avaway from the Irish – remember? – I digress.

Unless you ask everyone who voted no one will ever know for sure.
If you ask everyone who didn’t vote you will never know.
Unless you ask all sixteen year olds you will never know.

Remainers wanting 16 year olds to vote is grasping at straws to help manipulate a vote to stay.

All sixteen year olds will vote to leave if there is a free iPhone 10 for doing so!!!!!!!
What experience of life have they?

Having just disposed of teenagers through uni and now work they thought they knew everything. But now know they didn’t!!!!!

Back on point

There will not be and should not be another vote.

If it’s close we can just ignore it because elsewhere in these blogs it’s pointed out that it just advisory!!!!!

Why should we settle for one more???

It should be best of three, five etc etc.

There has already been a second vote, liberal dems stood on a platform of second referendum nay they stood on ignore the referendum and just stay.

They were wiped out at the last general election.

Get used to it, we’re leaving, we’re leaving, we’re leaving!!!!!!!

Given that fact we Should pull together to enable the freedom to be a massive plus. We can and we will!!!!

Instead we have watched the remainers in government and outside government use every possible tactic to disrupt the process of leaving..
For the sole purpose of being able to say “there told you so”
Then blame the prime minister for carrying out the wishes of the majority vote!

The tactics are not yet over, can they not see they are making it worse??????

A very interesting and important article – lot of young people joined Labour – and they are pro-European.
What is the membership of the Labour party now- 250,000?
Remember Glastonbury?
Also you got the EU citizens who have lived for many years in the UK and who are now campaigning, and they are becoming politically active.
Most of them will not join the Tories.
This group will also influence and enlighten political debates within the party with their knowledge and perspective/

The Labour manifesto from the last election said clearly ‘jobs first ‘and listed all the organisations Labour wanted to stay part of.

So it is just a logical consequence for Labour to move with the new grassroots – its future. Corbyn is not a natural leader – he sees himself as someone who wants to facilitate the political discussions and processes within the Labour party grassroots.

And last but not least ‘out of Europe’ means that an American president who is regarded as sexist and not interested in global warming etc is the ‘best mate’ of the UK – lots of young people shudder at that development.

How will that turn out if we remain in the EU? Does it mean that an additional 400,000 EU workers will come to the UK top to enjoy the jobs bonanza? Does it mean that continental EU firms will scoop up most of the contracts?.

We use cookies on this site to understand how you use our content, and to give you the best browsing experience. To accept cookies, click continue. To find out more about cookies and change your preferences, visit our Cookie Policy.